A few weeks ago I mentioned that Anti-Body products are now being carried in most Whole Foods Market stores, especially here in the West and Southwest. Now we found out that management at the markets are using The Fair Trade movie to introduce employees to the human side of fair trade, as well as provide a backstory for Anti-Body, a locally-produced product that Whole Foods is marketing. This is a wonderful use of the movie: to make the connection between how we live and work, and how people on the other side of the planet are affected.

The Fair Trade movie will be featured Down Under, during the New South Wales Fair Trade Fortnight [one of many Fortnight websites here, church venue homepage here].

We feel honored and fortunate to be a part of these larger events that get out the word about fair trade, communities, and the people around the world like Tamara and her friends in Togo who are aided by fair trade practices worldwide.

Congratulations! Weve selected your film, The Fair Trade, for inclusion in the White Sands International Film Festival. As festival producers, we admire the talent, skill, and effort that you and your associates devoted to the work, and weve scheduled it to be screened several times at Las Cruces, New Mexicos new Allen theatre complex.

The festival happens April 23-25, and The Fair Trade movie is screening at 1:00 p.m. on Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th.

FIRST: Congratulations to Anti-Body, the company profiled in the movie. They are now selling through Whole Foods Market, both here in the Southern California area as well as Whole Foods’ Southern and Mid-West regions. See the announcement on their blog and go buy some of this wonderful product while supporting producers in Africa!

SECOND: Wow! You people asked over and over where you could get the wonderful song “Wayfaring Stranger” that Rachel Diggs sang in the movie. So, we relented. Thanks to the generosity of the artists (thanks Rachel and Buddy Zapata!) we are offering the recording of “Wayfaring Stranger” from the movie as a free download, at http://www.thefairtrademovie.com/media-free-mp3.html — so now you can download it to your iPod.

THIRD (and final): The Fair Trade continues to make its presence known worldwide. The movie is now available for rental from Netflix. If you are a member of Netflix, please rate The Fair Trade — it helps with attracting new rentals and sales. Next, we will be in Massachusetts April 3-5 for the 2009 Lowell Film Festival, where The Fair Trade is a featured film [ http://www.lowellfilms.org/ ]. And, on May 16, the movie will be featured as part of Fair Trade Fortnight 2009 in New South Wales Australia [ http://www.fairtrade.com.au/ftf09 ].

Thank you all for your continued support. More than making a movie, the filmmakers wanted to invite us all into a discussion about what constitutes a “meaningful life” and how does fair trade figure into that equation. We love the conversations that we have had with many of you after the screenings, and look forward to more lives changed as people watch Tamara’s journey in The Fair Trade.

Three short films screened ahead of The Fair Trade, all good work by talented filmmakersit was a privilege to be among them. There were about 100 people there, and the Q&A session had to be cut short because it would have gone on all night. People stood around and talked after that for another hour or so until kicked out.

Special thanks to my good friend Craig Detweiler and the Brehm Center for hosting this wonderful event; I heard Craig was an awesome moderator.

We have received the film and have been showing it in the store. It has really impacted some of our customers, staff and volunteers very positively. Thank you for allowing us to get the word out.

Anna

We’re glad that you are enjoying it! Please make sure to tell customers that they can buy the DVD online to share with their friends. And thanks for letting us know  the stories of lives being changed by The Fair Trade are what gives us the most satisfaction of making this movie.

The Fair Trade is part of an evening of screening films made by people at Fuller Theological Seminary. There will be 3 shorts screened before our film and then a Q&A panel afterward, moderated by author, screenwriter and Fuller professor Craig Detweiler.

The shorts are L.A. Actors, Spin,and Weathered.

The film Weathered is a short made by our friends Matt Barber and Matt Webb, and is co-starring our friend and colleague Tony Hale.

This will be an awesome evening! Free to all! Travis Auditorium is a great small venue. Bring your friends.

About this blog

Loren A. Roberts hosts this blog to support the continued distribution of The Fair Trade movie, directed by Lauralee Farrer. His company's site can be found here. He will discuss aspects of the film's production, as well as issues raised by the movie, including fair trade, depression, hope, small businesses, and Tamara's start-up (with Steve & Shelby), Anti-Body.